Semiprecious stones have been crafted into beads since early civilization. Formed when minerals were caught in cooling rocks and created veins, they are extracted from the rock by mining. The human need for beauty and self-adornment is as old as civilization itself. The belief in the magical properties of the stones used in adornment –attributes of peace, protection, and healing–is also ancient.

Semiprecious stones have been assigned to birth months, used as amulets and traded as currency as well as adornment in jewelry; and many are believed to have therapeutic properties which pass to the wearer. Gemstones such as diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires are rarely drilled to make beads as this detracts from there worth.

The stones and clays from which our beads are formed come from the mysterious depths of the earth all over the world. But whatever the varied geographical or geological origin of these beautiful, tactile objects—they bring a common delight to our eyes, our minds —and our souls.

Disclaimer:

The information regarding the metaphysical and other properties and purposes of minerals are provided for entertainment and inspirational purposes only. In no way is it intended for diagnosing illness, prescription, or advice and should not replace proper medical attention. Consult your Doctor or other health care practitioner regarding health issues. Creative Bead Designs is not liable for any use or misuse of this information.

Obsidian, Black

Obsidian is a type of naturally occurring glass, produced from volcanoes when a fluid felsic lava cools rapidly and freezes without sufficient time for crystal growth, for example by flowing into a body of water. It consists mainly of SiO2 (silicon dioxide), 70% or more. Obsidian is mineral-like, but not a true mineral because it is not crystalline. Its composition is very similar to that of granite and rhyolite. It is sometimes classified as a mineraloid.

The color of obsidian varies depending on the presence of impurities. Iron and magnesium typically give the obsidian a dark green to brown to black color. The inclusion of small, white, radially clustered crystals of cristobalite in the black glass produce a blotchy or snowflake pattern (snowflake obsidian). It may contain patterns of gas bubbles remaining from the lava flow, aligned along layers created as the molten rock was flowing before being cooled. These bubbles can produce interesting effects such as a golden (sheen obsidian) or rainbow sheen (rainbow obsidian).

Small nuggets of obsidian that have been naturally rounded and smoothed by wind and water are called "Apache tears." Obsidian is relatively soft with a typical hardness of 5 to 5.5. Its specific gravity is approximately 2.6.

Obsidian is a very protective stone, and is excellent for removing negativity. It is also excellent protection against psychic attacks. In particular obsidian protects the gentle from abuse. It is a very grounding stone, and very healing. Physically it benefits the stomach, intestines, muscle tissue, and can rid one of bacterial or viral infections. It sharpens and focuses internal and external vision, and helps get in touch with buried issues before they explode. Obsidian is related to the root chakra.

Obsidian, Snowflake

Snowflake obsidian has the property of bringing things to the surface. The things brought to the surface could be positive or negative, love, anger, secrets; but with snowflake obsidian, these things are brought to the surface more gently that they might be otherwise. Snowflake obsidian can provide balance during times of change. It aids in seeing patterns in life and recreating them in a more beneficial way. It is a stone of serenity and purity, and can shield against negativity. It is associated with the root chakra and is beneficial for the veins, skeleton, and smooth skin. Snowflake obsidian gives protection from physical and emotional harm.

Ocean Jasper

Ocean Jasper is very soothing and helps to love one's self as well as others. It is very healing of the emotions and brings peace of mind. It helps with acceptance of responsibility and increases patience. The circulars patterns on ocean jasper symbolize and help us realize that we are all interconnected and nature is a cyclical pattern. It can also help with circular breathing for healing or meditation. Being a type of jasper, ocean jasper is a very protective stone, and any orbs ("eyes") enhance this in regard to protection from the "evil eye." Physically, ocean jasper is beneficial to the digestion, digestive organs, removing toxins, lessen body odor. Ocean Jasper is related to the heart chakra.

Okenite

Okenite is often called a "warm and fuzzy" stone because it brings feelings of the "warm fuzzies", feelings of comfort and belonging. Emotionally okenite encourages forgiveness of self and others, and lessening of denial. It can bring truth with self and others and ease the harshness of that truth. It also helps break bad habits of all kinds. In the psychic realm, okenite is an excellent helper stone for channeling angels and other benign beings. Okenite is a purifying stone. Physically okenite is helpful for blood diseases and problems, lowering fever, stomach problems, and slowing aging. Okenite is associated primarily with the crown chakra but can align and purify the energy of all chakras.

Onyx

Onyx is a banded variety of chalcedony, a cryptocrystalline form of quartz. The colors of its bands are white and black.

Onyx is associated primarily with the root chakra. It assists with challenges in life, especially those caused by a drain of energy. It prevents the draining away of personal energy and can be used for protection from such. It also helps with grounding and controlling or eliminating excess or unwanted energies. It has been used for wound healing, childbirth and to increase stamina and self-control. Black onyx and red onyx are associated with the base (root, first) chakra. White onyx is associated with linking the base and crown chakras to have balanced energy throughout the chakra system.

Opal

The mineraloid opal is amorphous SiO2·nH2O; hydrated silicon dioxide, the water content sometimes being as high as 20%. Opal ranges from colorless through white, milky blue, gray, red, yellow, green, brown and black. Often many of these colors can be seen at once, caused by interference and diffraction of light passing through minute, regularly arranged apertures within the microstructure of opal, known as Bragg's lattice.

These apertures are filled with secondary silica and form thin lamellae inside the opal during solidification. The term opalescence is commonly and erroneously used to describe this unique and beautiful phenomenon, which is correctly termed play of color. Contrarily, opalescence is correctly applied to the milky, turbid appearance of common or potch opal. Potch does not show a play of color.

Opal is a stone of inspiration which enhances imagination and creativity. It helps one release inhibitions and enhances memory. Opal is also a very spiritual stone, and can help one be "invisible" in situations where they don't care to be noticed. Opal brings happy dreams. It also eases the process of change. Physically, opal is helpful for eyesight and Parkinson's disease.

Orange Millennium: This wonderful orange gemstone is the 2nd new find for the 21st century. It has come up from the depths of the Earth and lain on the high desert floor, waiting for mankind's need for a balancing agent to help shift your physical body into a more comfortable place to be. As the emotional winds of change buffet us through the Earth changes that are upon us, these little Orange balls weld the power to calm the survival fears that effect the lower 4 Chakras The fears that tend to keep us off balance and feeling alone, vulnerable to attack, loss, powerlessness.

The root causes of the victim consciousness that seems to permeate the World today, and that creates a self fulfilling prophecy of doom; Letting one face there greatest fears, but then not walking through them. Carrying Orange Millennium™ on your person can greatly help both seeing and feeling that these fears are just that fears, enabling you to feel a sense of calm in the storm.

Helping the body to not react to the reptilian brains fight or flight syndrome, by lessening the bodies need to produce chemical stimulants that create "SUPER STRESS" that rob your energy and create a lethargic feeling along with sleeplessness, bizarre dreams, odd and disturbing visions of a future that holds NO future. Constipation of both the digestive tract and the emotions are greatly helped with Orange Millennium™, relief is brought by the knowingness that you are a child of the Earth and are connected to Her core; you are here to witness the Earth changes and be changed by them, that you are safe going through these changes if you let it be safe.

Papagoite

Papagoite is said to bring optimism. Historically it has been used to bring peace and purity. It helps one speak with clarity. It is also used for thought projection. In meditation, it can help bring one to a euphoric state of oneness. It is associated primarily with the third eye chakra, but also aligns all the chakras.

Peach Aventurine

Peach aventurine gently increases the energy of the sacral chakra. It helps with decision making and can boost creativity. Physically it is beneficial for the lungs, heart, adrenal glands and urogenital system

Pearl

A pearl is a hard, rounded object produced by certain mollusks, primarily oysters. Pearl is valued as a gemstone and is cultivated or harvested for jewellery.

Pearls are formed inside the shell of certain bivalve mollusks. As a response to an irritating object inside its shell, the mollusk will deposit layers of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the form of the minerals aragonite or calcite (both crystalline forms of calcium carbonate) held together by an organic horn-like compound called conchiolin. This combination of calcium carbonate and conchiolin is called nacre, or as most know it, mother-of-pearl.

Today pearls are cultured by man: Shell beads are placed inside an oyster and the oyster is returned to the water. When the pearls are later harvested, the oyster has covered the bead with layers of nacre. Most cultured pearls are produced in Japan. In the warmer waters of the South Pacific, larger oysters produce South Sea cultured pearls and Tahitian black cultured pearls, which are larger in size. Freshwater pearls are cultured in freshwater mussels, mostly in China.Pearls attune the wearer to ebb and flow of life. They are calming and centering. They give purity and promote faith, charity, and integrity, truth and loyalty. They especially enhance personal integrity.

Peridot

Peridot: This stone, also known as olivine or chrysolite, is a magnesium iron silicate with a hardness of 6.5 to 7. It can be found in Arizona, Hawaii, in the Red Sea, in Australia and Pakistan. Some Peridot crystals have even been found inside meteorites.

Mystic Lore: Intuitive sources say Peridot is a powerful generator of the frequency of Increase--increase of wealth, increase of health, and increase of joy and emotional well-being. It is said to bring the will and emotions into alignment, and to decrease fear.

Periodot is associated with the heart chakra, and can be used to balance and stimulate that chakra. It is a stone of compassion. It has a friendly energy and is excellent for healing. It assists in rebirth and renewal of all kinds. Peridot also bring abundance and prosperity. It enhances the healing and harmony of relationships of all kinds, but particularly marriage. Peridot can lessen stress in relationships, anger and jealousy, slow aging, and heal ulcers and digestive problems. It also assists in finding what is lost, and strengthens ESP abilities. It has been said to make a shield of protection around the body of any wearer of peridot.

Petalite

Petalite is a lithium aluminium tectosilicate mineral LiAlSi4O10, crystallizing in the monoclinic system. Petalite is a member of the feldspathoid group. It occurs as colorless, grey, yellow, yellow grey, to white tabular crystals and columnar masses. Occurs in lithium-bearing pegmatites with spodumene, lepidolite, and tourmaline. Petalite is an important ore of lithium. The colorless varieties are often used as gemstones.

Discovered in 1800, type locality: Utö Island, Haninge, Stockholm, Sweden. The name is derived from Greek petalon for leaf.

Petalite is sometimes called the "Stone of the Angels". It is excellent for spiritual healing. It also encourages and promotes connections to angels, spirit guides and totems. It is said to lift one to higher awareness and allow access to higher dimensions. It has been used to protect Shamans during ceremonies such as medicine wheels. It is extremely useful for astral travel and meditation because it will ground and protect you during these activities. It will also dissipate and remove negative energy and black magic spells. Petalite is also a stone of peace that can bring gentle calm in most any situation. It is also great at enhancing and increasing intuition and psychic abilities, and increases one's ability to feel subtle energies. Petalite balances yin/yang energies and aligns and balances mind/body/spirit. It is related to and works best on the throat and crown chakras.

Petoskey Stone

Petoskey Stone is a type of fossilized colony coral found only in Michigan, USA, the coral living during the Devonian period about 350 million years ago when Michigan had a warm inland sea. Because of the "eye" type configurations it shows especially when polished, it is said to mystically help stimulate the third eye and psychic awareness.

Petoskey Stone is also said to keep naughty spirits from channeling incorrect information or interfering with one's life. In particular, as far as awareness, Petoskey Stoneis said to enhance awareness of the emotions, which can be a boon for dealing with emotional issues. It is also said to clear out negative energies from the aura and the environment. Traditional healing folklore and crystal healing lore purport that Petoskey Stone is helpful for healing AIDS, Cancer, CFS, eyes, head, infections, infectious disease, lungs, skeletal system, and tumors of all kinds. Petoskey Stone is related primarily to the third eye chakra as well as the crown chakra.

Petrified Dinosaur Bone

Petrified or Fossilized Dinosaur Bone increases energy and memory. It has ties with the deep past, and this makes it an excellent stone for past life work. Dinosaur bone is also wonderful for calming anxiety, in particular survival anxieties. It helps, too, with communication and ability to understand communications. Physically, dinosaur bone is used for healing of paralysis, broken bones, hearing, vigor, regulation of body temperature.

Petrified Wood

Petrified Wood: This stone is not actually wood which has turned to stone, but is a replacement of the form and structure of the original wood by chalcedony or jasper. The most significant location of this material is near Holbrook, AZ, site of the famous Petrified Forest.

Mystic Lore: Intuitive sources say Petrified Wood is useful for bringing patience to those in a process of slow inner transformation, and for bringing that change to fruition. It is said to help one strengthen one's 'backbone', both physically and in terms of self-will.

Petrified wood is a stone that is good for grounding and stabilizing one's emotions. It is particularly useful in calming survival-based fears. It helps one be practical. It is a stone of business success. Petrified wood is a good stone for general protection. Physically, it is beneficial physically for the bones, backaches, skin and hair. Petrified wood is also used for past life regressions because of its inherent link with the past.

Phantom Quartz

Phantom quartz crystals are wonderful awareness tools. They can give a sense of magic that most of us have lost along the course of our lives. Phantom quartz can help us increase awareness of evolution, in ourselves and in the world around us, showing how growth, rest, and rebirth cycle through all existence. Psychically, phantom quartz is considered excellent for past life work and meditation, and is valuable for the mystic or spiritual seeker. Physically, crystal healing and folk lore say that phantom quartz crystals are excellent for initiating healing, bringing great energy to the healing process, and are especially helpful for hearing disorders and emotional healing.

Picasso Marble (aka Picasso Jasper)

Picasso Marble (or Picasso Stone) is sometimes called Picasso Jasper. It has strong metaphysical qualities of grounding and calming. It also promotes weight loss and assists in the development of creativity, as well as engendering strength and self-discipline.

Picture Jasper

Picture jasper helps create harmony, proportion, creative visualization, positive things in business pursuits. It brings and shows hidden messages from the past as well as hidden thoughts, fears, and hopes. These qualities make it useful as an emotional/psychological healing stone.

Pietersite (aka Tempeststone)

Pietersite, a Namibian gemstone, is also called Tempest Stone. It is an opaque stone, with colors ranging from red and gold to indigo and black. It often exhibits a shimmering iridescence similar to tiger eye. It was named after its discoverer, Sid Pieters.

Mystic Lore: Intuitive sources say that Pietersite carries the energy of the 'storm' element, and can purify one's body and energies. It is said to be tremendously energizing to the wearer, enhancing strength, courage, will power, and awareness of the higher planes.

It enhances courage, tenacity, and ability to maintain or create what is yours. Spiritually and psychically, pietersite helps in working with angels, experiencing visions, and precognition, relating to feminine or goddess energy, as well as astral and dimensional travel. Emotionally, pietersite helps to relax, and release deep emotions in a calmer way. Physically, pietersite balances body fluids, improves nutrition, helps with gastrointestinal functions, and helps the endocrine glands, balances female homones, alleviates PMS and menopause symptoms. Pietersite is also excellent for improving memory.

Pink Peruvian Opal

Pink Peruvian Opal is a stone of love and gentleness. It brings energies of gentle love and kindness to both romantic relationships and relationships of other kinds. As with other opals, it also brings inspiration, imagination and creativity. It can help release inhibitions and brings happy dreams. It also eases the process of change. Physically, pink Peruvian opal is helpful for eyesight, heart disease and injury, Parkinson's disease, lungs, and spleen. Pink Peruvian opal is associated primarily with the heart chakra.

Poppy Jasper (aka Brecciated Jasper)

Poppy Jasper is the reddish variation of brecciated jasper. Sometimes it is just referred to as brecciated jasper, but the modern term is poppy jasper. It has the qualities of enhancing organizational abilities, relaxation, and a sense of wholeness. It is occasionally used to assist when dowsing. It aligns the chakras and balances the yin-yang, physical, and emotional. It is a stone of protection, and is used in particular for protection during astral travel. Poppy jasper encourages attunement and communication with animals and can help with animal allergies, plus other allergies. It brings happiness and a good outlook on life and eases stress. Poppy jasper can help increase physical endurance and ward off dehydration. It is also a good stone for grounding oneself and is associated with the root chakra.

Prehnite

Prehnite is a phyllosilicate of calcium and aluminium with the formula: Ca2Al(AlSi3O10)(OH)2. Limited Fe3+ substitutes for aluminium in the structure. Prehnite crystallizes in the orthorhombic crystal system. It is brittle with an uneven fracture and a vitreous to pearly lustre. Its hardness is 6-6.5, its specific gravity is 2.80-2.90 and its color varies from light green to grey or white. It is translucent.

Prehnite is a very protective stone and can protect one on all levels. It strengthens the life force and generally increases and stimulates energy. It aids spirit communication through meditation or visualization, out-of-body travel, and is a powerful dream stone. Prehnite is also known as a stone of prophesy which stimulates inner-knowing. Physically, prehnite is helpful in the healing of gout, anemia, and kidney problems

Purpurite (Purperite)

Pupurite is mineral, basically Manganese Phosphate, MnPO4 although with varying amounts of iron depending upon the source of the mineral. It is a striking pink purple colour as might be expected of a manganese containing mineral.

Purpurite (purperite) is a stone that helps break away from self-destructive or self-limiting patterns, as well as external restraints. It helps one speak with confidence. It increases spirituality, promotes inner growth, and stimulates the ability to absorb spiritual insights. Purpurite is also a stone that can bring prosperity and help with finances. Physically, purpurite is helpful for wounds, bruises, uric acid levels, and purifying the blood.

Pyrite

The mineral pyrite, or iron pyrite, is iron (IV) disulfide, FeS2. It has isometric crystals that usually appear as cubes, faces may be striated (parallel lines on crystal surface or cleavage face) as a result of twinning, but is also frequently octahedral and occurs as pyritohedrons (a dodecahedron with pentagonal faces). It has a slightly uneven and conchoidal fracture, a hardness of 6–6.5, and a specific gravity of 4.95–5.10. Its metallic luster and pale-to-normal brass-yellow hue have earned it the nickname fool's gold, but ironically enough, small quantities of actual gold can sometimes be found in pyrite. In fact, some auriferous pyrite is a very valuable ore of gold.

Pyrite is a stone of intellect and protection. It enhances intelligence, mental stability, logic, analysis, creativity, memory, and psychic development. It can help you tap your own latent mental talents and abilities. Pyrite is a powerful protection stone, and is very grounding. Pyrite is also known as Fool's Gold and Healer's Gold.

Pyromorphite

Pyromorphite is a mineral species composed of lead chlorophosphate: Pb5(PO4)3Cl, sometimes occurring in sufficient abundance to be mined as an ore of lead. Crystals are common, and have the form of a hexagonal prism terminated by the basal planes, sometimes combined with narrow faces of a hexagonal pyramid. Crystals with a barrel-like curvature are not uncommon. Globular and reniform masses are also found. It is part of a series with two other minerals: mimetite (Pb5(AsO4)3Cl) and vanadinite (Pb5(VO4)3Cl), the resemblance in external characters is so close that, as a rule, it is only possible to distinguish between them by chemical tests.

Pyromorphite is a mineral that enhances the energies of other minerals. Pyromorphite is said to attract money and other objects of wealth, and can help one see the steps to take to achieve goals, giving it the nickname "the Victory Stone". It also activates and stimulates one's personal energy. Pyromorphite can be used to get rid of creative blocks. It is also used to renew connections with people one has lost touch with. Pyromorphite should not be used directly to make elixirs. Pyromorphite is excellent for healing because of its enhancement of other stones used in crystal healing. Physically, pyromorphite is used for chills, gum disease, removing organisms from the blood, and assimilating B vitamins.